Fishermen urged to report hooked seals

November 11, 2012

HONOLULU (AP) - State and federal officials are asking fishermen to quickly call a hot line when they see a hooked or entangled endangered Hawaiian monk seal.

Authorities have responded to 13 seal hookings so far this year, including three that killed seals.

The most recent hooking involved the seal RK54, who swallowed a hook, became entangled in a fishing line and died. His carcass as found near Kauai's Ninini lighthouse last month.

The 13 hookings so far this year are an increase from nine last year. They also exceed the average for the past decade, when about eight seals were caught each year.

Authorities were able to remove hooks in seven of the cases because people reported the hookings early. One seal removed the hook itself. Another seal is still hooked but alive.

William Aila, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources director, said fishing interactions don't pose a major threat to the recovery of the critically endangered species. But he said the department and federal officials want to address everything that harms Hawaiian monk seals, a species with a population of just 1,100 that's declining about 4 percent annually.

"We want to partner with the fishermen to further reduce impacts. Following the guidelines and reporting hookings can help make a relatively small impact become even smaller," Aila said in a statement.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration hot line for reporting hooked or entangled seals is 1-888-256-9840.

The department and NOAA are both urging fishermen and others to write down the number or save it in their mobile phones so they may call it quickly.

"As the numbers of successful interventions from this year show, reporting early is important to the potential survival of the seal in question," said David Schofield, the marine mammal health and response program manager at NOAA's Pacific Islands Regional Office.